My Best Friend
by oathkeepings
Summary: Jenny has always been burdened with balancing school, her social life, her mother, and fighting crime. But, how will she manage things when she finally realizes her true feelings? How will she handle both this new revelation, and preparing to go to war with the Cluster? Will she lose love to defeat the Cluster once and for all?
1. Chapter 1

My life had always been crazy, but I had learned to balance it fairly well. Acing all my classes in school, keeping a maintained social life with my friends, keeping my mom happy, and helping the whole world stay at peace. At first, I'll admit it was overwhelming, but three years later it's become more of a routine for me than anything. I've got a good life though, that much I know for sure.

I woke up with the chirping of my regular bird, and I rubbed my sleep-rusty eyes. I sat up, and looked at my clock. That bird always knows right when to wake me up, 7a.m. sharp- never a minute early, never a minute late. I hopped out of bed, checked myself in the mirror, and headed for the living room.

"Good morning XJ-9," my mother chirped. She's always been a morning person, usually rising no later than 5a.m. I leaned forward sheepishly and yawned.

"Hello mother, how is your research on dark matter coming?"

"Oh, same old same old. Darling, I left you some oil in the fridge to take to school for lunch," she purred.

"Thanks mom, I'm heading out!" I grabbed my backpack, put the oil from the fridge inside, and waved to my mother before I headed outside. Immediately I was greeted by my best friend, Brad. My favorite thing about Brad is he never made me question who I am, or why I am the way I am. He's never made me feel uncomfortable or different for being a robot. He supports me no matter what, and I know I can always be 100% myself around him. I would never give him up for any price.

"Heeeeeeeey Jenny!" Brad smiled. I waved, and joined him on the sidewalk. We walked to school together every morning, unless Brad was sick or out of town somewhere.

"Hi, Brad. How are you this morning?" I asked with a smile.

"I'm good Jen, besides the fact I didn't get much sleep last night," he recalled, rubbing his sleep-filled eyes. I cocked my head to one side in curiosity.

"Why? You usually never have troubles sleeping."

"I know, I guess I just had a nightmare and was restless for the rest of the night."

"What was the nightmare about?" I asked, recalling the time my mother installed my dream mode chip, and how awfully that turned out. I cringed at the thought.

"I... I'd rather not say, Jen," he cowered. I frowned, wondering what it could possibly be that he'd hide from me.

"Brad, you tell me everything! I'm not going to push you, but I don't get why you can't share it with me." Brad shrugged, and looked away from me.

"I-I might have had a dream about you," he stuttered. My eyes widened at the thought.

"Really?! What about?" Suddenly, I was excited, but I couldn't put together why exactly.

"I had a dream that you died and I was never able to see you again. I can't bear the thought of losing you, Jen. It threw me off, having a dream like that. I couldn't get back to sleep afterwards." He said nervously, putting his hand on the back of his head sheepishly. My mouth opened slightly as I wondered why he'd even dream about me in the first place, but I decided not to press further. It was clear it was making him uncomfortable.

"Oh, I'm sorry Brad. But I will always be here for you, if I have anything to say about it!" I smiled, trying to reassure him I wasn't going anywhere. He looked at me, blushed, and shoved his hands in his pockets. We walked the rest of the way to school in silence. Why was he acting so weird? I couldn't shake my curiosity of why he'd dream of me in the first place. I thought about it all through my classes, until class finally ended for the day.

When the bell rang, I scanned the crowd of kids running from the school for Brad, but I didn't see him. After a few more minutes of waiting outside for him, I figured out I was left to walk home alone. I started my half-mile walk home from school, humming one of my favorite songs when I ran into Tuck halfway home.

"Hey Tuck!" I exclaimed. Tuck looked my way and his eyes lit up.

"JENNNNNY!" Tuck yelled and ran over to me. "How was your day at school?"

"Good, thanks! Hey, has Brad been acting weird to you?" The minute the question left my mouth, Tuck's face twisted in a way I've never seen before, and he avoided the question.

"Hey Jen, could you fly me home? Dodgeball in gym today was _soooo_ hard on me and I'm exhausted." I agreed, and hitched Tuck on my back as we flew the rest of the way home. Why did Tuck look at me that way when I asked him about Brad? Why does this continue to get weirder and weirder, and out of nowhere?

Before I knew it, we were home and I let Tuck off of my back in front of his house. I scanned the area for Brad, but he was nowhere to be seen. I was starting to feel concerned now, we always hung out after school. It's like a tradition, we've hung out every day after school since I started as a freshman three years ago. Something must really be wrong, but it seems Brad won't tell me, and neither will Tuck. Snapping myself out of thought, I waved to Tuck, and bid him farewell before heading into my own home and heading up to my room without even saying a word to my mother. I plopped down onto my bed, and opened up a magazine.

"XJ-9?" I heard my door open slightly with a creak. "Are you alright? You usually always say hello to me when you return home," my mother said, her voice riddled with concern.

"Yes mother, everything is fine," I said, annoyed. She found her way into my room, and sat on the edge of my bed.

"Now now, XJ-9. Tell me what's going on, because as your mother I know when you are fine, and right now... You are not fine. Spit it out this instant! I will not see my daughter sad!" I sighed, and reluctantly coughed up my dismay.

"Brad's been acting weird since this morning. He told me he had a nightmare about me being killed, and after we arrived at school he avoided me during classes, and after school. I asked Tuck about it, and he wouldn't tell me anything. He made a weird face when I asked, and changed the subject."

"Did you do something to upset him, perhaps?"

"Not at all! Everything was just fine yesterday, and suddenly today he's acting all weird. I'll never understand boys..."

"Maybe that nightmare really threw him for a loop, XJ-9. Maybe he cares for you more deeply than you think. Give him some time to calm down and I'm sure everything will be fine, okay?" My mother gave me a hug before she rose off of my bed and went back to her research. I sighed. I wish I knew why Brad was so upset, or why he was acting so weird. I figure Tuck must know, if he acted so strangely when I asked him about it. Interrupting my thoughts, the threat indicator went off. A fire broke out in city hall, and I had to go extinguish it. I flew out of my bedroom window, straight to city hall.

A fire had broken out, and a giant fire golem was tracking his way around the outside of the building. Immediately, I hooked my hose up to the nearest fire hydrant, and splashed the golem in the face. He turned to me, alerted to my presence, and charged toward me much quicker than I thought a golem could move. I was able to jump out of the way last minute, and the golem immediately reached up and grabbed me in his colossal hands. I squirmed to earn my freedom, but it was to no avail. I brought out my water laser, and blasted him in the eye with it. He groaned loudly, and threw me in the air. I recovered myself in the air, but I met his firey punch slightly afterwards. I flew into a nearby building, and struggled to get up.

"Man, he's faster than I could've ever imagined," I thought to myself. I got back on my feet and flew toward him at full speed, water cannon ready to fire. I impaled him with a water missile, and he staggered backward with a yell.

"I wish Brad was here to help me right about now," I thought, thinking back to earlier today. Lost in thought, the golem's fist found me again, and I went flying toward the street, hitting it with a loud thud. My armor was starting to taint at this point, and I was losing my patience. Then suddenly, I remembered there was a small lake to the right of city hall. I flew toward it, and sucked the whole body of water up through my hose. Immediately, I flew back and drenched the golem with gallons and gallons of water, until he finally shrunk to the size of a pebble. I flew down next to it, and stomped it out. Finally, I took the rest of the stored up water, and put the fire out at city hall. Everyone cheered like they normally do, and I returned home to rest and tune myself up.

When I got home, I peered out my window to see if Brad's bedroom light was on, and it was. I think it's time for a talk.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for the super-long delay in posting the next chapter. I didn't realize people were actually interested in the story I had been writing, so I'm going to try and update more regularly for those of you who are enjoying what I'm writing. Thank you for the positive reviews, and hopefully you continue liking the story!

* * *

I flew out of my room and hovered up to Brad's bedroom window. He was reading a book with one headphone in his ear, the other resting on his chest. I tapped my finger on the glass to get his attention, and his head snapped in my direction. His face immediately turned beet red, but he knew he couldn't escape me, so he opened up the window reluctantly and sat back on his bed. He was looking into his lap, and to my surprise, spoke first.

"Jenny. I know you're here to talk about why I left school without you, and didn't seek you out afterwards," he started. He looked up at me, and for some reason I looked away, with my hands behind my back. "I've come to some realizations lately, some that aren't so easy to face. Being near you makes them flood my brain even more, and I just needed time to be alone with my thoughts."

"Brad," I intercepted. "Why won't you talk to me about it? Bottling up your feelings won't help anyone. One day you're going to build up to the point where you just explode. I'm here for you, I always have been. Is that not enough anymore?" I could swear I was feeling my eyes well up with tears, and my heart start to come undone. Brad peered at me with sad eyes, realizing how truly sad this situation was making me.

"Jen, please don't look at me like that... I've never seen you so... sad." He stood and came within inches of me. Then, he leaned his face as close to mine as possible without our noses touching. "I've realized things, Jen. My heart is telling me things I've been trying to ignore, but my heart's voice just gets louder by the day... And when I'm next to you, it's like it's blaring in my ears." He grabbed both of my hands in his before continuing. "I always thought I could get away with just seeing you as my best friend. I always thought it was impractical to be in love with a robot, knowing you couldn't really love me back... But, I've known I've loved you for a long time and I've been trying to run from it. It's finally caught up with me, and I can't hide it anymore. You invade my thoughts constantly, and when I'm near you I get all clammed up. I've started dreaming about you, too, so sleep isn't even a viable escape anymore." My eyes widened. Did Brad just admit he has feelings for me? And why do I feel a fluttering in my chest? I shouldn't be able to feel the things I'm feeling right now.

"Brad. Why are you running from your feelings when you know that's exactly how I feel about you?" I questioned. I was getting ready to utter those words, though I knew they wouldn't come out because I can't feel them. I can't even tell my mom I love her, because, I'm not allowed to feel. I was going to try anyway, though. I was determined, and I couldn't figure out why. "You know I... I-I-I... I love you too, Brad. I always have." I immediately smacked my hand up to my mouth in shock. Did those words just come out? Did I just successfully tell someone I love them? How is this possible? I was built so that I could not say things I didn't truly mean. Does this mean I really love Brad?

"Jen... Did you just..?"

"Yeah... I did. I can't quite believe it myself, either." Before I could say anything more, Brad pulled me into the deepest hug he's ever given me. He held me for a while, and he started to silently sob into me. I gripped him tightly, but not too tight, to avoid y-know, crushing his whole body.

"This is the best day of my life, Jen. You told me you loved me. You must truly feel it, if you were able to say that to me."

"I know. I'm really confused about it myself, but I know through and through that it is the truth. I have to go now, though. I really need to speak to my mother about this. I'm sure you understand. We will definitely talk more about this later, though, okay?" Brad nodded, and opened the window to let me out. I kissed his cheek, causing a strip of crimson to grace his face, and I took the sight of him in one more time before I returned home.

* * *

I hovered back into my bedroom, and headed down to where my mom was likely continuing her research on dark matter. When I found her, she was hunched over a sample of the stuff with goggles and gloves on.

"Mom, I need to talk to you," I stated.

"Not now, hunny. I've been making great strides with my research!" She hummed.

"No, really. We need to talk, now. I told Brad I loved him. The words came out of my mouth, and I felt a fluttering in my chest. I thought I couldn't feel raw emotion like that? What's going on?" My mother immediately turned to me, a huge smile adorning her face.

"XJ-9! This is great news! I knew Brad would be able to bring that out of you!" She was practically screaming.

"What do you mean, 'bring that out of me?' I'm so confused, mom!"

"XJ-9, when I built you, I wanted you to be as close to a real human girl as possible. I put a feature in you that would unlock your ability to love once you actually found your true love. Try telling me you love me, once. Once you find your true love and profess your true feelings to them, it unlocks your whole ability to love others, whether it's a family member, friend, or lover," she explained.

"Mom, I love you." I screeched after the words came out of my mouth. Is this really happening? As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt a warmth in my stomach that I'd never felt before. It was something I could only dream of.

"See? Now you know how it feels to love your mother. I waited a long time for this day, but I can say it was truly as rewarding as I always imagined it would be. Did Brad say it back, at least?"

"He said it first. I knew I wanted to say it back, but figured I wouldn't be able to. I tried anyway, and the words came out. If I had a heart, it felt as if it was beating out of my chest."

"You don't have a real heart, obviously. But as I stated before, you've unlocked your ability to feel love, now that you've found true love. You'll be able to feel heartbreak too, though, so be careful dear." She turned back to her piece of dark matter, and I knew the conversation was finished. I went back up to my room, and got absolutely no sleep. All I could think about was Brad, and how I was going to adjust to this fluttering in my 'heart', and this warmth radiating in the pit of my stomach.


End file.
